Book Reviews
Book reports are a type of informative writing because they tell the reader what a particular book is
about. Book reviews also summarize the contents of books, but they go beyond this simple task to
make statements about the value of a particular book to the discipline of which it is a part. In this
respect, book reviews are examples of argumentative/persuasive writing, and therefore they require
thesis statements.

The Argument
The most common mistake students make when coming up with thesis statements for their book
reviews is to make their arguments about the topics covered in the books. For example, a student
writing a review of Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom would not want to focus his or her
argument on free markets and their relationship to democratic societies, but would rather want to
make an argument that says something about the book’s value to the more general conversation
concerning capitalism and democracy. The student should imagine having to answer the question, “If
I wanted to know more about capitalism’s influence on democracies, should I read this book? And
why or why not?”

To answer this question, the student will first have to assess:

Ø The Book’s Author

- Background and qualifications
- Purpose in writing the book
- Writing style
- Use of sources (see Bibliography and Table of Charts and Figures)
Ø The Book’s Format
- Table of Contents
- Index
- Chapter and section titles
- Introduction
Ø The Book’s Content
- Introduction/Conclusion
- Preface
- Chapter summaries
- Tables, Graphs, Figures, etc.

In each case, the student must determine if the element in question improves the book or not, and
then decide if both the effective and ineffective elements taken together give the book value as a
resource. For example, a particular author’s writing style might be very interesting and engaging, but
if he or she has used sources of questionable authenticity in his/her research, then you could
conclude that, overall, the book is not worthwhile.
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The Structure
Introductory paragraph:

- In the first sentence, identify the author’s name, title of text, format of text (book, article,
speech, etc.), and the subject of focus
- Then, establish the author’s credentials
- Identify the book’s intended audience
- Identify the author’s argument
- State your thesis evaluating the book’s value to its discipline

Content Summary paragraph(s):

- Remember to be objective! You are not arguing anything at this stage

- Identify the major sections of the book
- Clarify the author’s purpose, objective, or research question
- Describe the sources and evidence the author presents
- Show how the evidence connects to the author’s argument
- Explain important outcomes and conclusions

The Main Body (analysis paragraphs):

- Now you will argue for or against the book’s value

- Evaluate the author’s style (simple/technical; persuasive/logical?)
- Evaluate the methodology (comparison/contrast; cause/effect; analogy; by example)
- Evaluate the sources and evidence (primary/secondary; maps; charts; expert
testimonials; quotations; interviews; newspaper stories)
- Determine whether the evidence is convincing and provide examples to justify your opinion
- Indicate whether or not there is important evidence missing from the text
- Identify a comparable text that has included this information

Concluding paragraph:

- Briefly summarize all the strengths and weaknesses of the book

- Evaluate the book’s overall usefulness to its intended audience

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